People with PH have narrower blood vessels in their lungs, making it harder for blood to move through the lungs as you inhale and exhale. While there is no cure for pulmonary hypertension, there are several medications that can slow the disease, allowing you to live your life more easily.
UW Health is home to one of just four centers in Wisconsin (and the only one outside of greater Milwaukee) accredited by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. Accredited PH centers treat a higher volume of patients and are more familiar with potential signs of the disease. They also offer the widest array of treatment options.
Some of the more common symptoms include:
Shortness of breath
Feeling unusually tired
Chest fullness or pain
Fainting, dizziness or light-headedness
Swelling in the ankles, legs or belly
PH can also be associated with another underlying condition, such as congenital heart disease, COPD, sleep apnea, liver disease or lupus.
Moreover, pulmonary hypertension tends to come on gradually. For example, you may have mowed your lawn without a problem last year but now find yourself having to take breaks to catch your breath.
Echocardiogram
This test uses ultrasound to estimate the blood pressures in your lungs. If one side is working harder than the other, it could be a sign of PH.
Pulmonary function test
This is a breathing test that tells us how well your lungs are working.
Six-minute walking test
This tells us how much exercise you can tolerate
Blood tests
Through a standard blood draw, we can determine whether something other than pulmonary hypertension might be causing your symptoms.
Right-heart catheterization
If the above tests suggest that you may have pulmonary hypertension, we will schedule a right-heart catheterization, often called the “gold standard” test for PH. This test, typically performed with light sedation, involves the placement of a thin tube (catheter) that travels through blood vessels to your heart. The catheter can often be placed through a vein or artery in your arm. It provides the most precise measure of the blood pressures in the lungs as well as those in the right and left sides of the heart.
Group 1: pulmonary arterial hypertension
Pulmonary arterial hypertension is the rarest form of PH. It occurs when the arteries in the lungs become narrowed, thickened or stiff, forcing the right side of the heart to work harder than it should. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with this type of PH, which can cause the heart to lose its ability to pump enough blood through the lungs to meet the needs of the whole body.
Group 2: PH due to left heart disease
This is the most common form of PH. These patients have arteries and lungs that are not as thick or stiff as those in Group 1, but have problems with how the heart squeezes or relaxes, or have problems with the valves on the left side of the heart. Accordingly, the left heart cannot keep up with the blood returning from the lungs, causing a “backup” of blood which raises pressure in the lungs.
Group 3: PH due to lung disease
For these patients, PH is caused by lung diseases such as COPD, emphysema, interstitial lung disease or pulmonary fibrosis; or from sleep apnea or from living in an area of high altitude for a long time. Accordingly, the arteries in the lungs tighten so that blood can only go to areas of the lungs that are receiving the most air and oxygen. This tightening leads to high blood pressure throughout the lungs.
Group 4: PH due to chronic blood clots in the lungs
These patients have a form of PH called chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), which can occur when the body is not able to dissolve a blood clot in the lungs. Accordingly, normal blood flow is blocked, forcing the right side of the heart to work harder.
Group 5: PH due to unknown causes
Patients in this group have PH that is secondary to other diseases in ways that are not well understood. Examples of these associated conditions include sarcoidosis, sickle cell anemia, chronic hemolytic anemia, splenectomy (spleen removal) and certain metabolic disorders.
Depending on what type of PH you have, medication(s) will be prescribed to achieve one or more of the following:
Relax the blood vessels
Increase the blood flow
Reduce the risk for blood clots
Remove excess fluid from the body
If medications do not control the symptoms, patients may be treated with surgery or be listed for a lung transplant or heart-lung transplant.
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University Hospital Pulmonary Medicine Clinic
600 Highland Ave /Madison, WI 
(608) 263-7203